THE GENUINE ORTHODOX CHURCH

I) We believe in, venerate and worship one God, Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible, Who in three persons is acknowledged; Father and Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, one in essence and undivided, equal in honour, equal in kingship, equal in throne, equal in power, beginning-less, eternal, boundless, incomprehensible, indescribable, unfathomable.

 

II) We confess and profess the unutterable and inexpressible incarnation of God the Word from the ever Virgin Theotokos (Birth-giver of God) Maria, the crucifixion, the burial and His resurrection to the abolishment of sin and death, for our salvation and our reconciliation with God, His ascension into the heavens, and His Second coming, in order to judge the living and the dead.

 

III) We accept with our whole soul and heart, the Holy Symbol of our Faith, to be compiled through the Holy Spirit by the First and Second Holy Ecumenical Synods, which consists of twelve articles, and I believe those as they are interpreted by the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ, in all their details.

 

IV) We confess and accept that which the Holy Seventh Ecumenical Synod proclaimed concerning Holy Icons: “We prescribe, with all precision and diligence, in addition to the symbol of the holy and life-giving Cross, that the holy and sacred icons, whether in colour, mosaic, or some other material, should be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on the sacred vessels and liturgical vestments, on the walls, furnishings, and in houses and along the roads, namely the icons of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, that of our Lady the Theotokos, those of the venerable angels and those of all saintly people. Whenever these representations are contemplated, they will cause those who look at them to commemorate and love their prototype. We define also that they should be kissed and that they are an object of veneration and honour (timitiki proskynisis), but not of real worship (latreia), which is reserved for Him Who is the subject of our faith and is proper for the divine nature, ... which is in effect transmitted to the prototype; he who venerates the icon, venerated in it the reality for which it stands." Further more the same Fathers in the Synodikon of the Holy Seventh Synod proclaim, and in turn confess: "As the prophets beheld as the Apostles have taught, as the Church has received as the teachers have dogmatized, as the Universe has agreed, as Grace has shown forth, as Truth has revealed, as falsehood has been dissolved, as Wisdom has presented; as Christ has Awarded. Thus we declare, thus we assert, thus we preach Christ our true God; and honour His Saints in words, in writings, in thoughts, in sacrifices, in churches, in Holy Icons. On the one hand worshipping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord, and on the other hand honouring as true servants of the same Lord of all and accordingly offering them veneration."

 

V) We accept and keep firm every dogma of the Eastern Orthodox Church, those with regards to the worship of the persons of the Supersubstantial Godhead, and generally all the Holy Traditions of the Orthodox Church, written and unwritten, Apostolic and of the Fathers, in agreement with the Great Holy Father Basil who said: “For if we should undertake to discard the unwritten traditions of customs, on the score that they have no great force, we should unwittingly damage the Gospel in vital parts.”

 

VI) We confess and accept the Seven main Holy Mysteries of our Church, namely; Baptism, Chrismation, Divine Eucharist, Repentance and Confession, Priesthood, Matrimony and Unction, as well as all others considered Mysteries, and those we honour and respect as indispensable for the salvation of our soul, and for transmitting to us the faith, grace and sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

 

VII) We accept and honour the Holy Canons of the Holy Apostles, of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, those of the approved Regional Councils, also the Canons from the Holy Fathers which are listed in the Holy Rudder of the Church (the Pedalion), as well as the convening of the Great Councils of Constantinople by Jeremiah II in 1583, 1587 and 1593, which anathematised the new calendar of Pope Gregory XIII and all other innovations, just as in the year 1848, the convening of the Great Pan-Orthodox Council of the Eastern Patriarchs, which again condemned and anathematised every modernisation and innovation; as transcripts of satan and we proclaim what the Pan-Orthodox Synod in the sigilion proclaimed in it’s 7th canon: “Whoever does not follow the customs of the Church, as the Seven Holy Ecumenical Synods have decreed, and Holy Pascha, and the Menologion, which they rightly made it a law that we should follow, and wishes to follow the newly invented Paschalion and the New Menologion of the atheist astronomers of the Pope, and opposes all of these things and wishes to overthrow and destroy the dogmas and customs of the Church that have been handed down by our Fathers, let him be anathema and let him be put out of the Church of Christ and out of the assembly of the faithful.”

 

VIII) We reject, condemn and consider, the 1920 Encyclical of Patriarch Meletios Metaxakis which was addressed to "all the Churches of Christ from all over", to be heretical.

​

IX) We declare that we will have no ecclesiastical communion with those who are outside of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church whether in prayer or otherwise, not with them, or all those who are in communion with them, just as the following Holy Canons prescribe: “If anyone pray in company with one who has been excommunicated, he shall be excommunicated himself.” (10th Apostolic Canon). And, "A Bishop, or a Presbyter, or a Deacon that only prays together with heretics, should be excommunicated; if he has permitted them to perform anything as Clergymen, let him be defrocked.” (45th Apostolic Canon). And, "That one must not pray together with heretics or schismatics.” (33rd Canon of Laodicea).

 

X) We confess that the local Church of Greece remained complete and perfect, full of grace and continued Her Apostolic Succession unbroken, even between the years 1924-1935 when the Church of Christ received back into Her bosom three hierarchs, who fought hard between those years to revert the anticanonical adoption of the New Calendar but having not succeeded, but after openly declared before the clergy and laity of the Church, their encyclical which proclaim the state Church of Greece to be schismatic and thus graceless as we can see in the following paragraph: “ ….we counsel all who follow the Orthodox festal calendar to have no spiritual communion with the schismatic Church and its schismatic ministers, from whom the grace of the All-holy Spirit has departed, since they have set at naught the resolutions of the Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils and all the Pan-Orthodox Councils that condemned the Gregorian festal calendar. The fact that the Schismatic Church does not have grace and the Holy Spirit is confirmed by Saint Basil the Great, who says: “Even though the schismatics have not erred in doctrines, yet because Christ is the Head of the Body of the Church according to the divine Apostle, and from Him are all the members quickened and receive spiritual increase, the [schismatics] have been torn from the consonance of the members of the Body and no longer have the grace of the Holy Spirit abiding with them. And how, indeed, can they impart to others that which they have not?” (Signed by Germanos of Demetrias, Chrysostom, formerly of Florina and Germanos of the Cyclades Islands. 21st June 1935).

 

XI) We confess and affirm that the episcopal consecrations which took place in 1935 and 1948 by the true confessing bishops of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece were indeed filled with the grace of Holy Spirit and that true Apostolic Succession was transmitted through them on the recipients thereof.

 

XII) We confess and affirm that the Holy Synod of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece, never sought recognition, validation or correction by ROCOR or by any other “synod” regarding the blessed episcopal consecrations of 1948 carried out by Bishop Matthew Karpathakis of Bresthena of blessed memory. (St. Matthew the New-Confessor and Wonder-worker).

 

XIII) We acknowledge that after the schism of 1924, the Genuine Orthodox Church of Romania; namely the clergy and laity, maintained the pure Orthodox Confession of Christ’s Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, preserving all of the written and unwritten Traditions of the Orthodox Church, as well as every dogma of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and rejected all that the Orthodox Church rejected throughout Her history, every heresy or innovation, including the Gregorian Calendar which was ever condemned and anathematised by the Orthodox Church since it’s introduction by the heretical Roman Catholic Church in the year 1582, and was later adopted by the various Patriarchates and Regional Churches in 1924 referring to it as the “Revised Julian Calendar”. Furthermore, we acknowledge that the Genuine Orthodox Church of Romania, received Archbishop Victor Leu of blessed memory via Confession of Faith in the year 1967, who became the first hierarch of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Romania, and from whom the late Bishop Gherontie Ungureanu received his Apostolic succession from.

​

XIV) We reject and condemn the organization of the World Council of Churches (WCC), which promotes and practices the Pan-heresy of Ecumenism and we proclaim that we are not affiliated with it in any way, neither directly or indirectly. We reject and condemn Ecumenism in all its forms, both mainstream and that which subtly exists within the old calendar or traditionalist "Orthodox" groups, which promotes the idea that it is possible for the grace of the All-Holy Spirit to sanctify Mysteries outside Christ’s One True Church, and therefore contradict the oneness and unity of Christ's Body; namely His Church, and simply, we do not acknowledge Mysteries outside the Church as the Holy Canons prescribe.

​

XV) We affirm just as all the Regional Churches who we are in Ecclesial Communion with, namely; the Genuine Orthodox Churches of Cyprus, Greece, Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Britannia and Lebanon, that the Ecumenist New Calendar and Old Calendar “Churches”, have no valid “Mysteries” before God and thus those who are received into the Genuine Orthodox Church must be received in accordance to the Holy Canons of the Church, as it is written in the 47th Apostolic Canon: “Let a bishop or presbyter who shall baptize again one who has rightly received Baptism, or who shall not baptize one who has been polluted by the ungodly, be deposed, as despising the Cross and death of the Lord, and not making a distinction between the true priests and the false,” and just as it was proclaimed by the Fathers of the third Holy Regional Council held in Carthage in the time of Cyprian, who in their Canon concerning baptism, declare; “….baptism administered by heretics and schismatics is unacceptable and they ought to be baptised when they return to the Orthodoxy of the catholic Church. 1st ) Because there is but one baptism, and because this is to be found only in the catholic Church. Heretics and schismatics, on the other hand, being outside of the catholic, have, in consequence, not even the one baptism. 2nd ) The water used in baptism must first be purified and be sanctified by means of prayers of the priests, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit; afterwards it can purify and sanctify the person being baptised therein. But heretics and schismatics are neither priests, being in fact rather sacrilegists; neither clean and pure, being in fact impure and unclean; neither holy, as not having any Holy Spirit. So neither have they any baptism. 3rd) Through baptism in the catholic Church there is given a remission of sins. But through the baptism administered by heretics and schismatics, inasmuch as it is outside the Church, how can any remission of sins be given? 4th) The person being baptised must, after he is baptised, be anointed with the myron prepared with olive oil and various spices, which has been sanctified by visitation of the Holy Spirit. But how can a heretic sanctify any such myron when as a matter of fact he has no Holy Spirit because of his being separated therefrom on account of heresy and schism? 5th) The priest must pray to God for the salvation of the one being baptised. But how can a heretic or schismatic be listened to by God when, as we have said, he is sacrilegist and sinner (not so much on account of his works, but rather on account of the heresy or schism, this being the greatest sin of all sins), at a time when the Bible says that God does not listen to sinner. 6th) Because the baptism administrated by heretics and schismatics cannot be acceptable to God as baptism, since they are enemies and foes with God (i.e. mutually), and are called antichrists by John.”

 

XVI) Finally, all which the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ, our Spiritual Mother; arbitrates, glorifies, keeps and preserves from the beginning until now, we accept, confess, keep and preserve; and neither one iota or tittle do we subtract, and all that She rejects and disdains, condemns and anathematises, we do likewise proclaim with one mouth and one heart:

​

This is the Faith of the Apostles!

This is the Faith of the Fathers!

This is the Faith of the Orthodox!

This is the Faith which has established the Universe!

​